兎に角

Japanese

Kanji in this term
兎	角
と Jinmeiyō	かく Grade: 2
on’yomi

Etymology

Shift from とにかくに (to ni kaku ni), itself composed of と (to, “in that way”) +‎ に (ni, particle) +‎ 斯く (kaku, “in this way”) +‎ に (ni, particle).[1][2] The kanji spelling literally means “horns on a rabbit”, but this is merely ateji (当て字).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) とにかく [tóꜜnìkàkù] (Atamadaka – [1])[2][3]
IPA^(key): [to̞ɲ̟ika̠kɯ̟ᵝ]

Adverb

兎に角 (hiragana とにかく, rōmaji tonikaku)

anyway, anyhow, in any case, be that as it may

Usage notes

This term is more commonly written in hiragana, as とにかく.

Synonyms

兎 (と)も角 (かく)も (to mo kaku mo)
兎 (と)にも角 (かく)にも (to ni mo kaku ni mo)

Related terms

兎 (と)角 (かく), 左右 (とかく) (tokaku)
兎 (と)も角 (かく) (tomokaku)
兎 (と)や角 (かく) (toyakaku)
ともあれかくもあれ (to mo are kaku mo are)
ともあれ (to mo are)

References

1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

[KDJ-1] 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

[DJR-2] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-3] 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN